


Out to Catch Them

by Rizaru



Series: Catching You [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bickering, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, Hogwarts Sixth Year, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-01 20:34:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13302678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rizaru/pseuds/Rizaru
Summary: Hermione has been worried about Harry for a while now. And then she sees him sneak of one evening under his cloak.. She vows to find out how badly Harry's gotten himself in trouble again, only to find something deeply.. unusual, should she say..





	Out to Catch Them

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I wouldn't continue Caught! Or not.. But here I am, lol. 
> 
> This could be taken as a stand-alone, too, so no pressure to read that one.
> 
> Although if you want to know where this is coming from or where this is going, I do suggest reading all parts.
> 
> Reason for continuing is quite simple, too:
> 
> I hate unfinished tales.
> 
> So I'm out to finish what I started.
> 
> Thank you for reading ××
> 
> Riza

 

It was a perfectly normal evening in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione sat by Ginny in a comfortable chair by the fire, reading, as usual. Her thoughts weren't on her books, though - nor were they on exams, or spells or the like. They were on Harry.

Hermione was the brightest witch of their year and for a reason: she noticed things and could read into them by far more detail than the boys for example. She had a feeling they didn't think things nearly as much as she did. But they had her so they survived without further pains.

Or Harry had her.

Ron.. was off snogging Lavender Brown.

They didn't talk anymore. Pain nagged at her chest now. It was better not to think about those two.. lovebirds. Or she would be cranky and finish none of her books.

Would she even finish them by next week at this rate, though?

Hermione sighed just in time to notice a ruckus on the other side of the room, near the portrait hole. Some students were climbing in and seemed to have run into something.. Hermione fixed her eyes and saw a feet flicker in and out of sight. Her eyes narrowed instantly.

Speaking of Harry..he seemed to have plans of his own, too.

Hermione got up and swirled her wand to have her books arrange themselves neatly into her bag which she took with her and whirled out the common room after what she knew was a certain Harry Potter under an Invisibility Cloak. She could not let him get into danger again and knowing Harry, he wouldn't let them know of it if it was something new. Especially now that Ron was.. otherwise occupied.

Ginny shot her a worried look but she said something to reassure her - what though, she had no idea.

Hermione was at the portrait hole right when it was starting to close and scampered out hurriedly, having to push her way through a few people. The corridor outside was silent with no soul in sight. She guessed left or right and picked right, pointed her wand and tried putting a Tracker Charm on Harry. She bet he wouldn't notice the little pinch of magic if his thoughts whirled away on other things. Her Tracker did catch on something and Hermione smiled to herself, before weaving her wand around herself to disillusion herself from prying eyes. She wouldn't want Harry to see her - or the danger he was apparently out to meet.

What was left was following her Tracker around the school to see what Harry was up to now.

A few weeks ago she perhaps wouldn't have bothered to follow him, but that was because then he still told her everything. Now he kept secrets, she knew that. But didn't know what it was. Because Harry wouldn't tell her. Hermione could tell something was off immediately - Harry was bad at keeping things from her, which made it a surprise in and of itself that she didn't know what he was up to now. So Hermione followed him diligently, trying to help her friend even if he didn't ask for it. Because Harry never asked for help until it was the last choice he had. He was stubborn like that.

But he had Hermione, and she would keep him safe.

She'd vowed that to herself by the time You-Know-Who came back. She knew Harry would do anything in his power to stop him and Hermione Granger wouldn't just sit back and let him do so himself and probably get himself killed at the same time.

They'd always done everything together, the three of them. They complemented each other and triumphed through things that tried to trip them. She knew she'd always stay by Harry's side, until the possible bitter end. Hermione hoped Ron would, too. But that was something left to be seen at a later date.

Hermione kept a steady eye on her tracker and moved right behind it, a little to the left, though, so she would avoid sudden turns and the like. She also hoped Harry didn't have his map with him. Otherwise he would certainly notice her, but her hopes were high since he hadn't confronted her yet. It was a bit - not a bit,  _very_ \- concerning he didn't have it. It was not like Harry at all, which only amplified her anxiety.

Harry stopped in the seventh floor and already Hermione knew where he was going - the Room of Requirement. But why? Sure they knew Malfoy was brewing something in there but they had no way of knowing  _why_. Harry had been very obsessive about the snarky Slytherin the whole year, so maybe he knew something more about it, maybe it was something about that and that's why he hadn't told her - Hermione frowned. But he had told her so much already; what else could he be keeping from her?

They arrived by the painting of Barnabas the Barmy but that wasn't what Hermione had her eyes on, no, it was the door there, slightly ajar: like it was waiting for someone. Her brows furrowed in deep thought. This was unsettling.

Harry's Tracker moved to the door and suddenly Hermione saw him in person, because - he'd taken the cloak of -  _why in Merlin's name had he taken the cloak of?_

Harry took a steadying breath and opened the door. Despite her bafflement, Hermione was ready to take action and slipped in right behind Harry, going without notice only because the boy had no mind for her - he was too keen to go inside to notice he was followed. Hermione wanted to lecture him right at that moment to be more wary; they were at _war_ for God's sake! But she bit her tongue and took in the dark room they were in.

A relatively small room, lit by only a cracking fire by her right, covered by a towering couch - to which Harry was walking to.

"So you came", a low voice said, no _drawled_ , by the couch.

Hermione knew then who was there, who'd made Harry so careless - his obsession of the year. Draco Malfoy. And maybe the Potions book could count as one, too. Harry had many obsessions this year.

"Of course I did - you left the door open for me so kindly", Harry said and sounded..different, somehow. More confident, relaxed, but also.. anticipating. Hermione had a feeling this wasn't the first time the boys met, the  _rivals met_.

She inched closer to the couch, by its left so she could watch them more easily as Harry stood by the right and Malfoy sat down on it. She hid herself right by the fire so she could see Malfoy's expression well enough in the shady lightning. He had a smirk on his face and he sat on the couch, a divan, more like, Hermione noted briefly, like he owned it, like he was a king - a Slytherin King.

"I just had to see if you were eager to _ruin_ my plans tonight as well", Malfoy drawled in his usual voice, but it took a darker hint to it and he seemed almost predatory in that moment. Harry's reaction got Hermione by a total surprise, so unusual it was. 

_He blushed._

Why in the name of seven miracles did he blush?

Suddenly Hermione got a sinking feeling this something, this danger Harry had gotten himself into was not exactly as she'd thought it to be. She steeled herself by the wall and applied the mental strenght she knew she had. She would not be found out, no matter what. And she had little means to get out of here, the boys would surely notice if the door went and opened by itself. She could only stand there and watch - unless she wanted Harry to know what she'd done. And Hermione got a feeling her friend wouldn't take it so well.

When Harry couldn't seem able to form a coherent sentence, Malfoy leaned from his seat and asked again: "Well,  _will you ruin my plans, Potter?_ "

A visible shiver went through Harry and Hermione's eyes opened wide. She shouldn't be seeing this - no, she certainly shouldn't. But she also couldn't seem able to close her eyes.

But then Harry got back his defiance and he pointed his wand at the divan so it stretched, giving him space in it to sit down. And sit he did: Harry plopped down unceremoniously and moved Malfoy's legs out of the way at the same time.

Then he moved his focus back on the blonde, looking on with one eyebrow lifted.

"Aren't I always trying to ruin your plans, Malfoy? We'll just have to see what those plans are tonight, don't we?" Harry asked and shook his shoes off, making himself comfortable on the divan.

Malfoy's lip twitched in amusement.

"So it's all up to me to decide - how boring", he sneered and leaned back again, looking as his words suggested, bored.

Harry bristled at that, his temper rising.

"Well what am I to do? With Crabbe and Goyle playing the part of an alarm and watching my every move there's little I can do to wreck your.. other plans", he all but shouted at Malfoy, who seemed slightly impressed.

"You've gotten quite far in finding my plans out, I must admit. But I suggest you indeed let those off your radar -you cannot be that bored", the blonde said, quietly, but also adamantly.

Harry snorted and leant in.

"I'm not that bored, trust me - with Quidditch, Dumbledore and most of all Voldemort out there ready to kill me I have many better things to do than wait for you by a door", he said and ruffled his hair in annoyance. For a second Malfoy looked like he was about to say something else, but then the moment was gone as fast as it had come.

"Oh? So Saint Potter's got trouble in paradise? Who would have thought?" Malfoy tried to sneer, but the bite just.. wasn't there. Hermione got the feeling the boys found some kind of odd comfort in each other - not that they'd ever admit it.

Harry looked at him blankly, raising an eyebrow of his own.

"Really? Trouble? Me? My life's nothing more than trouble - or did you forget? Parents murdered, orphaned by a massmurderer still out to get me, godfather.. killed, Prophet out to get me at every turn with all the people here hating me one moment and loving the next only to hate me again" Harry let out a hollow laugh, "Trouble? It's _torture_. Not that you would know that, with your parents alive and happily serving said massmurderer."

Malfoy had looked almost sad before that last comment from Harry. By it he sat up straighter, his voice growing threatheningly low as did the atmosphere that had been surprisingly light until that moment.

"That's what you think? Well then you must be as stupid as you look! My life? Easy? It's far from that!" Malfoy started getting a bit hysteric, "Have you ever tried living with  _said massmurderer_? Trying to stay something as simple as _alive_ is as hard as it can be! And then there are a dozen other people ready to torture your family, in your _own home_.. With no rest from anywhere, with constant threats on your loved ones - because unlike what you might think I _do_ love my family. And one misstep, one wrong word - and they suffer. _I_ suffer. I don't _want_ this. I don't want to do what I _have_ to do. But if I don't, if I betray _him_ \- there's little life left in me or them. I don't want to become a useless sacrifice. Better stay where I am, walking this thin line between damnation and slow death and perhaps one day survive. Maybe I can do something this way, something small but crucial.."

Malfoy's voice ended in a whisper so fragile and silent Hermione thought if it was real anyway. She also had a hard time comprehending all that Malfoy'd said just then. She had never thought about it like that - that he had to live with You-Know-Who, actually live with him and his anger and propensity to start murdering if something went slightly wrong.

Harry looked like he had a similar thought process, because he fell silent and only stared at Malfoy like he'd never before seen him.

"I'm sorry", he finally said sadly and smiled a little, goofily tilting his head to one side after it. "I'm known to be rash and stupid - certainly you know that as you've said it yourself so many times. I guess it's hard for us all, this war. I can't say I understand what it's like to be you right now or ever, but know that I think there are choices we all can do. There's always a choice - whether a better or worse one is unknown, but there are. And those choices, they make us into who we are. Dumbledore taught me that years ago and I've come to know it's true. What I'm trying to say.. Well.. I hope that whatever you choose, in whichever situation it is that you'll do the right thing. Not only for everyone else, but for you too. I don't want you to become a useless sacrifice either. Whose plans would I ruin then?"

Harry laughed a little at that and Malfoy cracked a small feeble grin, too.

"So... I'm also of the mind we should choose not to wreck our mind with depressing things but live a little as they say.. So what do you say?" Harry said smirking crookedly.

Hermione wanted to shed a tear for the moment she'd just witnessed, but then she was reminded again exactly why she'd thought she shouldn't be there.

"I say it definitely wasn't me in the first place who started going on and on about all this depressing stuff", Malfoy drawled, his facade back in place as was Harry's. The blonde leaned towards Harry and slowly rid himself of his outer robes and jumper, staying only in his white shirt.

Harry huffed a little in indignation and pouted at Malfoy.

"It's your fault for always being up to no good - you're like the Marauders! No forget that, _forget_ that! Don't sneer at me! _Don't_ laugh at me, Malfoy I warn you-"

"What? You'll shut me up again? Like that first time?" Malfoy asked with amusement, but there was a underlining in his words that always managed to rile Harry up. It succeeded this time too, although Hermione had no idea what he'd done that 'first time'.

Harry growled a little and threw his robes to the floor, too, so he could better advance on the blonde reclining back on the sofa. He stopped by his face, few inches apart from each other.

"Only if you make me, you insufferable git", Harry said darkly and Malfoy's silvery eyes darkened instantly.

"Oh? Well what will you do if  _I_ want you to shut up? Guess I'll just have to see.." Malfoy snarled and suddenly he wasn't leisurely reclining back against soft pillows, but on top of Harry on the divan, pinning the black haired wizard securely underneath him, before stopping just over his lips and looking straight into green, vivid eyes.

"Not so chatty anymore, Potter?" He asked silkily, unblinking and intimidating.

"You're still an insufferable git, Malfoy", Harry more whispered than accused.

Hermione watched in deep amazement and mortification as Malfoy leant down and kissed her best friend straight on the mouth, eliciting a muffled moan from Harry. She felt her cheeks redden and had the sudden urge to flee and forget she ever saw this - but her feet were rooted on the spot and she could only watch the first sexual feat she'd ever witnessed, happening between Harry and Malfoy, the two most unlike candidates to actually get together - or perhaps they weren't. Perhaps they understood each other just so, knew what to do to get their minds off other things. Perhaps this was a good thing.

And perhaps Hermione really should close her eyes and cast a wordless  _muffliato_ on herself - not that she approved of the spell. Somehow she didn't do either of those things. Maybe she was a bit perverse in not doing that.

 But in that moment she couldn't be bothered by that because her eyes were wide open and trained on the pair on the divan.

In that short moment Hermione's mind had reeled on other things, the boys had opened their shirts and were fighting for dominance in being the faster one to undress the other - or that's what it looked like to Hermione.

Harry's hands were on Malfoy's nipples, twining them, while Malfoy tried not to moan while licking one of Harry's. His hand was in between Harry's legs and hastily undoing his pants. Harry moaned aloud at the contact.

"You still won't let me do you?" Malfoy asked in a breathy, annoyed voice while going up Harry's chest, giving it light kisses as he went.

Harry glared down at the blonde and huffed in exasperation.

"You won't let me do you either! Why should I bother?" he accused and for a while they stared at each other hard into the eyes, before Malfoy huffed.

"So we'll just have to do as always. You could stop being so stuck up Potter", Malfoy complained, but opened his zipper and got himself out and close to Harry's erection in his other hand.

"You're just as much at fault here than I am, Malfoy."

"So you say..but you could just shut up and let me do you already.."

"What was that? Why should I let you do me? What if I want to do  _you_?"

"There's a questionable 'if' in your sentence that contradicts your verifiability."

And they spoke no more as Malfoy lowered himself so their pricks rested against each other on his hand and they both grunted and moved their hips for better friction.

Harry reached out and grabbed Malfoy's head by his blonde hair and pulled him down for a searing kiss.

Their mouths moved together in a same tempo as their hips jerked and Malfoy's hand kept on moving along their shafts, rubbing some pre-cum over them to better the friction. Harry's other hand rested on Malfoy's hair, keeping his head still as his tongue tasted his mouth, ravaging it in his attempt to have some control over the situation, with Malfoy being currently on top and everything.

"Why'd you always have to fight me so much for control?" Malfoy asked irritated when he tried to lower his head horizontally, but Harry kept on tucking it down.

Harry shrugged, while nipping at Malfoy's red lip.

"Why'd you do the same?" He asked, before sighing in pleasure, "for me it's because I really don't have any control over my life, with everyone telling me what to do and all. So I like to have it at least now."

Malfoy stopped for a while, not letting go of their twitching pricks, though, and looked up into Harry's eyes. It spoke volumes in itself.

"Same, Potter, same. So I guess we just gotta keep on fighting, then. A pity."

And he leaned down and stole Harry's lips to be his own for a while. And Harry stole his just after that. And when Malfoy made Harry moan in ecstasy, soon Harry made Malfoy hiss in pleasure and writh against him. Like that it continued on, with them both giving what they got and fighting on, in their quest for release, for that still, precious moment in time when there was only them gasping together, moaning their need to come, to be undone for just a second before they'd have to part again to the cold world making them suffer - each on their own side of the war.

Hermione saw it all so clearly, so she could easily grasp the moment when it was the beginning and the end, when both their bodies tensed, when Harry grabbed onto Malfoy's shoulders and gasped aloud as he came, when Malfoy grit his teeth and his hand became a tight fist by Harry's side and his hips jerked frantically. Then they stilled, gasping, breathing, settling next to each other and coming back from the high.

It was all so sad and bittersweet at the same time. 

"Why me?" 

Harry's question filled the silence and Malfoy turned his neck to look at him.

"Why me? When I don't even let you do me?"

Malfoy was quiet for a moment, picking his words, or thinking why it was. Their eyes never left each other.

"Think about the bragging rights" Malfoy suddenly grinned, if not a bit feebly, "I can tell everyone I'm shagging, or not shagging the Boy-Who-Lived, the heroic Harry Potter." His voice lowered then, all the amusement gone as reality settled in.

"Not that I can actually tell anyone - think what the Dark Lord would think, if he knew we were doing this?" He shivered even at the mere thought.

Harry lay quiet and watched the outline of Malfoy's face - because the blonde had looked away.

"No, tell me why really? I know it's not because of that."

Another silence filled the air.

"I can't really tell you that can I?" Malfoy finally sighed and turned back to look at Harry again with raw, honest eyes.

They stayed like that for a long moment, before Harry shook his head.

"I don't think you can", he mumbled and slowly got up.

"I gotta go now - someone's bound to notice I'm gone soon."

Malfoy straightened up, too and ruffled his hair, trying to get it back in order.

"You ruined my hair, Potter", he accused Harry with a venomous look his way. Harry only grinned mischievously and ducked out of the way when Malfoy threw a shoe at him.

"I had to ruin something to keep up appearances, now hadn't I?" Harry laughed and they got up and back to their robes while bickering back and forth.

Eventually they left through the door and went different ways.

Hermione still stood there, frozen in place and her mind whirling.

Finally she sighed an extremely long sigh and made her way back to the common room.

It was the same as when she'd left, full of students doing homework or laughing and playing. She was nowhere near normal or the same as before.

Hermione felt sad, guilty and oddly comforted.

Harry hadn't gotten into trouble - or maybe he had, but only time would tell that.

He'd found himself an outlet, a way to feel. And Hermione was glad for that, she really was. It just didn't make it any easier, knowing she had to live on, keeping this whole thing a secret, without giving Harry her comfort, a hug for simply being there, being Harry.

She sat back next to Ginny, who asked something from her, probably where she'd been.

Suddenly Hermione blushed.

She knew Ginny liked Harry, had always liked him. But now she knew Harry's secret, too, and had to wonder would anything ever happen between them? Would Harry come to like Ginny too, like the redhead so wished? Would he ever tell her of Malfoy, of what they'd done together, to each other?

She'd caught them for sure, but Hermione knew she would never snitch on them.

Be what may, happen what might, she'd stand by Harry's side, protecting him from everything.

Because she'd vowed that,

She'd do it, too.

Because Harry was her best friend and an extremely stubborn boy.

Maybe he would need her to push him in the right direction in his relationship someday, too, if it seemed like he was unhappy with how things were.

Only Time would tell her, though.

And only Fate would know was it right.

 


End file.
